Spotify, the Swedish audio streaming service recently launched in India. The service, offering both ad-supported as well as paid premium subscriptions has already acquired one million users in the first week of its launch and by the looks of it will continue to gain users. Besides the seemingly overnight popularity the service has also been in the news for its ongoing legal battle with Warner Music Group. However, that will not be the focus of this post. In this post we will look at Spotify’s content licensing business in the light of Section 33 of the Copyright Act 1957 (as...

On February 23rd 2019, the Department of Industry and Internal Trade released a draft outlining the National e-commerce policy, curated to address the major developments taking place in the field of e-commerce and digital trade. The Policy addresses the various concerns that have accompanied the rapid digitization of the economy and has chosen certain key areas that needs prioritization. Additionally, the Centre has highlighted the importance of harmonization of e-commerce policies across Ministries and Departments of the Government. The key areas of policy addressed in this draft are – (i) Data; (ii) infrastructure development; (iii) e-commerce marketplaces; (iv) regulatory issues; (v)...

Over the years, the copyright law was amended several times to achieve different objectives ranging from inclusion of new works and rights to protecting interests of authors. One of the amendments to Indian copyright law in 1994 related to creating an exclusive business zone for copyright societies, whose objective is to manage works of authors, publishers and owners and facilitate ease of licensing and royalty sharing. The amendment provided in Section 33 of the Copyright Act that only copyright societies can be in the business of granting or issuing licenses. The objective of this limitation to the business of licensing...

Amazon Seller Services Private Limited ("Amazon") runs the eCommerce marketplace at www.amazon.in, and among other products, Amazon facilitates sale of eBooks and/or eBook subscription licenses on the platform at its Kindle eBook Store at https://www.amazon.in/Kindle-eBooks/b?ie=UTF8&node=1634753031. In my opinion, Amazon's business and approach with respect to eBooks does not comply with the recent FDI eCommerce guidelines by virtue of the following: By exclusively permitting only its group company Amazon Asia Pacific ("Amazon APAC") to sell eBooks on its marketplace;
By giving preferential treatment to Amazon APAC's eBook products on the Marketplace;
By requiring authors to publish exclusively on its marketplace through...

Indian Trademark Statistics for February (Second Week), Kamala Harris Trademark, 3.85 Crores Awarded to Whatman in Damages, Solid 21 Inc in Legal Battle, Harmal Chilli GI and more, brought to you by the Trademark Attorneys at BananaIP (BIP) Counsels.
TRADEMARK QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Every interaction in any form, is branding-Seth Godin
INDIAN TRADEMARK STATISTICS
In the last week, the Indian Trademark Office has had a slow week. The total number of applications published in the trademark journal has decreased by four percent (4 %). Similarly, the total number of renewals notices issued has decreased by nineteen percent (19 %). However, the total hearing...

As stated in our earlier posts, copyright registration is not mandatory, as copyright comes into existence the moment a work is expressed in a tangible form. However, writers are generally advised to get copyright registration for the work to make sure that the ownership of the work is duly established and to avoid disputes related to ownership. As copyright registration certificate acts as a proof of ownership right, it is advised that the copyright registration application is filed in the real name of the person/entity having the right in the work. The application process for registering a copyright is simple, and...

Indian Trademark Statistics for December (First Week) 2018, HBO Sound Trademark, Chhota Bheem Fights Counterfeiters, Lord Ganesha for Beer? Erode Turmeric GI Accepted and more, brought to you by the Trademark Attorneys at BananaIP (BIP) Counsels. TRADEMARK QUOTE OF THE WEEK “Mass advertising can help build brands, but authenticity is what makes them last. If people believe they share values with a company, they will stay loyal to a brand” -Howard Schultz INDIAN TRADEMARK STATISTICS In the last week, the Indian Trademark Office has picked up its pace. The total number of the applications disposed through show cause hearings has increased by sixty-six...

Writings expressed on tangible forms are copyrightable only if they are original and creative. The thresholds are low, but they still have to be satisfied.
Originality
Originality checks whether a writing has been independently created. The question is not about similarity of works, it is about independence of expression. As long as a writer has independently written her work, it will not matter if the work is similar or identical to another work. Example: If X writes a poem, and it is identical to a poem written by Y, X's poem will be considered original if she has written the poem independently, and...